


A Strange Waltz

by Pangrim



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Goddess Tower (Fire Emblem), NB Byleth, Other, Sylvain and Ingrid show up for .1 second, What it is ppl say?, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:09:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23589688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pangrim/pseuds/Pangrim
Summary: Byleth is a good teacher. They are not good at social situations.
Relationships: Jeritza von Hrym/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 8
Kudos: 32





	A Strange Waltz

Byleth is a good teacher. They love their students. They love to assist their students with learning, and love to contribute even to students who do not have a role in their classroom. 

They are not good at social situations. 

Cheerful students had swarmed them while they were still at the ball. More flirtatious members of the staff had danced close to Byleth. Jeralt wasn’t present at the ball, so there was no one to protect Byleth from the onslaught. Even Alois solicited a dance from them. He was a surprisingly good dancer, but his jokes were enough to kill the poor professor. 

Luckily, after they had danced what they considered three years worth of dances, they managed to slip out. They remembered what the gatekeeper had said about young couples and the Goddess Tower. They did not have anyone to meet, but they decided to head there. It had to be one of the most isolated places on campus. 

And that is how they run into ex-Professor Jeritza. 

Byleth blinks as they stare at Jeritza. Jeritza stares back at them. 

“What’re you doing in here.” Jeritza rumbled. 

Byleth walks over to him. Carefully, they stay right outside of his possible range. 

Jeritza draws a knife, taking a deep breath. “I’m not afraid to use this, Professor. Stay back. I was the combat instructor. I can easily slay you.”

Byleth does not move back. 

“What are you doing. You know I can easily slay you.” He threatens. 

Shockingly to both of them, Byleth steps closer to him. 

A different sort of dance from the one that Byleth had fled from begins. 

Jeritza slashes with the knife. Byleth steps back, the blade only cutting off their top button. Jeritza pursues them, attempting to cut them. Byleth ducks and sidesteps, their eyes wide. Jeritza is unrelenting. 

For Jeritza, it is one slice, two steps, three heartbeats at a time. 

Byleth mumbles as they dodge. “One, two, three. One, two, three.”

It is a demented sort of waltz. 

Eventually, Jeritza gets them against the wall. Byleth dodges a near cut to the face. Jeritza shoves them back with his free hand. 

Byleth realizes they are stuck. They look Jeritza in the eyes, and he stares back. He leaps forward with the knife. 

Byleth shuts their eyes, but feel only a dull impact on their neck. When they open their eyes to inspect, they find there is no cut. Part of the intricate handle had hit their neck, but there was no cut. Simply a small bruise. 

Jeritza had turned the knife so the blade was facing away from Byleth. They hesitate, then react slowly for Jeritza’s face. 

They touch the mask. Jeritza does not pull away. With little effort, the shorter professor manages to remove the mask. 

Jeritza is beautiful. He is handsome. Byleth does not know what to say. 

“I…could never kill you. Not like this.” Jeritza mumbles to them. 

Byleth holds the mask close. “Not...like this?”

Jeritza nods, but does not move away from them. “I will kill you. One day. You don’t have a weapon now. Still, you managed to hold your own. I need to face you on the battlefield, later. Just you and I.”

“Better...better circumstances.” Byleth says softly. 

Jeritza nods. He turns away, half of his bangs falling into his face. Byleth instinctively reaches out and brushes them back. Impulsively, they lean forward, and press a kiss to Jeritza’s cheek. 

“He looks so vulnerable,” Sothis muses in Byleth’s mind. “Yet, there is a present strength. You’re ridiculous, aren’t you?”

They choose to ignore her for the time being. Byleth offers Jeritza his mask back. The tall man takes it, and puts it back on. 

“Thank you, Professor.” He whispers to them. 

“Gift?” Byleth questions. 

Jeritza looks down at himself. Awkwardly, he offers them the dagger that he nearly stabbed them with. Byleth takes it graciously. 

“Do me a favor.” Jeritza requests. 

Byleth looks at him, interested. 

“Side with Edelgard.”

He leaves the Goddess Tower with that, right out the front door. Byleth is left to wonder how he managed to sneak into the tower in the first place. They hold the beautiful weapon close. 

“What a strange man!” Sothis proclaims, breaking the strange silence. 

Byleth jumps and shakes their head, as if to clear their head. 

“Hmph. I thought you were over being scared by me.” She appears in front of them. 

Byleth tucks the dagger into their belt in what is probably an unsafe manner. 

“Well? No words? Fine.” Sothis huffs with an exaggerated pout. “What do you think he meant by siding with Edelgard?”

They just shrug. 

She sighs at hopeless figure in front of her. “Fine. Just keep his words in mind, alright?”

Byleth nods. “Ok…”

Sothis pats their head. “Good Byleth. Remember, you’re the most popular chaperone. You’d better get back to the ball.”

They sigh loudly and she laughs, retreating into their head. Byleth turns and walks down the steps of the Goddess Tower. When they arrive back at the celebration, they purposefully stay in the corner to try and stay hidden. Surely, their disheveled appearance would end up provoking endless questions. Luckily, they went largely unnoticed for the remainder of the ball. 

Unfortunately, one perceptive student had noticed. The next day, as Byleth walks down the hallway, Sylvain winks at him. 

“Congrats on the sex, Prof—!” Sylvain starts loudly. Ingrid elbows him in the side and apologizes profusely. 

Byleth considers their strategies, and just flees to their classroom.

**Author's Note:**

> I know Jeritza shouldn’t be there but let me dream....  
> My twitter is @pangrym !


End file.
